AN ALTERNATIVE TO SUGAR BY REPLACING THE SWEETNESS FOUND IN NATURAL SUGAR

AN ALTERNATIVE TO SUGAR BY REPLACING THE SWEETNESS FOUND IN NATURAL SUGAR

CHAPTER ONE

   INTRODUCTION:

 A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, usually with less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are natural    and some are synthetic. Those that are not natural are in general, called artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes are found in a variety of food and beverages marketed as sugar free or diet including soft drinks, chewing gum, jellies, baked goods, candy, fruit juice and ice-cream and yoghurt. (Whitney 2011) People may not all like the same kind of baked treats but one thing we all agree on is that baked treats should be sweets usually, sugar is used to lend sweetness to foods but would cake taste just as good if the baker used a sugar substitutes instead of sugar? Many people prefer not to use sugar often due to health reasons and instead depend on sugar substitutes to sweeten their foods. But are sugar substitutes the same as sugar? What exactly are the differences between sugar and sugar substitutes? Sugar also known as sucrose comes from plants like sugar cane and sugar beets and is a carbohydrate. Sugar adds bulk to cakes, cookies and all         kinds of treats; sugar also causes browning and caramelizing in foods    when it is heated as when cookies turn golden brown in the oven sugar is a natural substance, something that our bodies can use for energy. Sugar substitutes come in three categories; artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols and natural sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are attractive because they add almost no calories to foods and are sometimes a part of weight loss programs. Also they don’t increase blood sugar levels which mean that diabetics can use them. Many artificial sweeteners like sucralose were discovered by accident in the laboratory. In 1976, a scientist in England was studying different compounds made from sugar. The scientist asked a student to test the compounds but instead the student tested them. Another category of sugar substitutes is sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols are not alcoholic beverages they do not contain ethanol which is found in alcoholic beverages. Sugar alcohols like sugar have calories and energy but not as much as sugar. Sugar alcohols like artificial sweeteners do not contribute to tooth decay and affect blood sugar levels slowly so diabetics can use them. Although sugar alcohols like xylitol, sorbitol and erythritol are manufactured products the sources are often natural. The last category of sugar substitutes is called natural substitutes. The categories include maple syrup, agave nectar and honey. These substances are absorbed by our digestive system and contain calories and nutrients that our bodies can use. (Michelle 2002)

                The chart   lists   some   popular   sugars categorized:

Artificial	Sugar alcohols	Novel		Natural
Sweeteners		Sweeteners		Sweeteners
Acesulfame
Potassium	Erythritol	Stevia	Extracts	Agave nectar
(sunett,sweet		(pure via, truvia)
one)
Aspartame	Hydrogenated	Tegatose		Date sugar
(Equal,	Starch	(Naturlose)
Nutrasweet)	hydrolysate.
Neotame	Isomalt	Trehalose		Fruitjuice
				Concentrate
Saccharin	Lactitol			Honey
(sugartwin, sweet
“N”   low
Sucralose	Maltitol			Maple syrup
(splenda)
	Mannitol			Molasses
	Sorbitol
	Xylitol

(Robert., 2011)

1.1   AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

AIM: To create an alternative to sugar by replacing the sweetness found in natural sugar.

OBJECTIVES:

To determine how the sweetness of sugar substitutes compare to the sweetness of sugar. In this research sugar and sugar substitutes will be tested and the sweetness will be compare in relation to sugar.

To compare the availability and affordability of the active components in the artificial sweetener and sugar

To know the components of this artificial sweetener and what makes them taste sweet

1.2   SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

Sugar substitute (honey) mimicking the taste of sugar will be a better alternative to people who are suffering from health impairment. Unlike sugar, honey has healthier glycemic index (GI) and certain antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1   TABLE SUGAR (SUCROSE): Sugar was brought to the Americas by Christopher Columbus. At the time, sugar was processed by boiling the cane juice and then harvesting the crystals left behind after the water evaporated. These crystals contained protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Sugar is generally extracted from plants sugar beet and sugar cane or a main ingredient in many foods and recipes available as sucrose or saccharose (household sugar), lactose (milk sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), glucose (dextrose). (Abishak, 2009)

2.2   THEORY OF SWEETENESS

Sweetness is universally regarded as a pleasurable experience except perhapsin excess. (Kurihara, 1992). Diversity of chemical compounds as aldehyde, ketones, some amino acids (alanine, glycine and serine) are mildly sweet. Plant species produce glycosides and  sterioside from shrub stevia are sweet. Even some inorganic compound are sweet, Berrylium chloride and Lead (II) acetate. (Guyton, 1991). A molecule must contain some structural motif called sapophore to produce that taste. Molecules with multiple hydroxyl group and those with Chlorine atoms are often sweet and are structurally similar compound.                                                                                                                              
In 1919 Oerly and Myer hypothesized that to be sweet, a compound must contain one each of the two classes of structural motif, a glyphore and auxogluc. In 1963 Robert Shellerberger and Terry Acree proposed the AH-B theory of sweetness, that to be sweet, a compound must contain a hydrogen bond ( AH ) and a Lewis base ( B ) separated by about 0.3 nanometers. (John,  2008 ) In 1972 Lemont Kier propose B-X theory that a compound to be sweet must have a third binding site ( labeled X ) that interact with a hydrophobic site on the sweetness receptor via London dispersion. Multipoint Attachment (  MPA ) theory by Jean M T and Claude N, in 1991, involves a total of eight interaction site between the sweetener and the sweetness receptor. This model has successfully directed effort aimed at finding highly potent sweeteners. ( Steveson, 2010 ) https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2695672613670435894#editor/target=post;postID=8053964627516870754